Let it puddle around my feet pool to my ankles tributary to our community sea rising tide of our despair.
Writing by Thorn
Art by Sean Kirkpatrick
River Rage
Are you sure?
Have you thought this through?
Rushing torrent
like the river doesn’t rage through
every vessel of my heart roaring like god
like those questions did anything other than delay my peace
fourteen years.
I will wait no more.
Let me be rash from now on
make spur of the moment bad decisions
let me teenage
let me rage
The world will kill me in a single moment, somewhere beyond help
so let me kill it back.
Every dripping moment
mine to seize
sweat running from my pores
waterfall this anger out of me.
Let it puddle around my feet pool to my ankles tributary to our community sea
rising tide of our despair tsunami this system away.
Shrill shrews
angry women
screaming pronouns machine gun mouth attack helicopter
I wonder why we might all rage.
I want to spit my blood back in the fascist mouth
sicken it with my disease
rout gut
eviscerate.
None may be free until all are free
trust us to know ourselves because no one else will
trust us to make our choices because no one else will.
Like I didn’t pay the deposit of a house for this
like I didn’t convince two doctors, a psychologist of this
like I didn’t argue my case like a lawyer
exhibit A – my deepest shames
exhibit B – my viscera, submitted for intestinal fingering more violations
exhibit C – excruciating detail childhood memories fears hurts stir through my self and remark on what dregs, what dregs.
Just because you have never had to bare yourself so to receive your medicine does not mean we are the same.
Strip from me my dignity my consent
put me on display in danger
two years impossible to pass impossible to feel safe.
Risk your life for us prove your dedication
salivating schadenfreude silvered eyes screens watching us back.
Being trans is a fate worse than death so prove you’re willing to die first.
We’re thirsty for your blood, entertainment.
Bash your shield with your spear, little gladiator,
brave the pit and win your wooden sword
and know that if you return, your life will be held up as proof
that none of you should ever have been free in the first place.
About the Author
Thorn (they/them) of Lucid Tales specialises in fiercely tender revolution, radical self honesty and wild, queer love. They’re a previous Purbeck Valley slam champion, Hammer and Tongue veteran and Freeway Poet, and have been crowned the ‘monarch of the extended metaphor’. A hedonist queer with more genders than brain cells and more heart than sense, they bring decadent drag, drunken tales of debauched gods, and silly sausage energy to every smouldering performance.Their audio-based Bedtime Stories series can be found on the Lucid Tales YouTube channel, and their first book of short stories, ‘genre-fluid’ was released in 2020. Other works have been published by Unknown Magazine and Nebulous Magazine.
About the Artist
Sean Kirkpatrick is an Australian artist and creator of comics such as “Baddies”. They also collaborated on the short graphic novel “The Days.”
They are a part of the queer band Baby Shower, where they play an orange bass guitar and channel much energy into sick bass lines and jumping about.
Sean likes it when their orange juice comes right up to the rim of the glass and doesn’t overflow. They have fond memories of art classes after school, which may or may not have led to graphic design and stellar art skills (and killer skills at doing winged eyeliner).
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